Best Makita 18v tools

[gmgmgm]

I'm trying to justify buying the newer Makita cordless chainsaw, for infrequent use around our land.

This takes a pair of the 18v batteries. If I already had such batteries/tools, it would be an easy choice! I already have the 10.8v drill/driver and impact driver, which are great. I have a corded angle grinder (old/cheap) and sander (old/ok), and a Festool TS55 for cutting.

What good cordless 18v Makita tools would help justify buying into the system?

Thanks.

 

[MattRoberts]

I have makita kit in terms of impact driver, two drill drivers and a multi tool.

I have since purchased the Ryobi cordless lawnmower and hedge trimmer, with the strimmer on the wish list. The ryobi range is so varied for diy and garden tools, I'm actually going to switch to it instead of makita when I next need to upgrade tools or buy new ones.

Not sure if that helps, but just wanted to give an opinion from an ex makita newly ryobi convert

 

[mbartlett99]

Their 18V drills, impact wrenches and impact drivers are pretty bomb proof. Recip saw and radio are good too come to think of it.

 

[TFrench]

All my work battery kit is makita. Use and abuse the drills daily (harsh industrial environments), the impact drivers are good, DAB radio is excellent, cordless grinder is incredibly handy, the double battery SDS drill is a monster - I'm genuinely amazed at how much oomph it has for a battery tool. The little hoover is a bit feeble but it keeps the health and safety brigade off our back's in food factories. The one handed reciprocating saw is ideal for the stuff we use it for but a bit lacking in power. Think of it more as a powered hacksaw. Once you have the batteries bare units are pretty cheap so its easy to expand.

 

[memzey]

I have an 18v Makita combi drill and cordless circular saw. Both excellent and still going great guns after a number of years’ of enthusiastic and cackhanded amateur use. Would heartily recommend.

 

[Woodmonkey]

Aside from the usual drill/ drivers, the smaller single battery sds is very very good. I've also got the brushless jigsaw which i rate highly. Keep eyeing up the coffee machine!

 

[Mark A]

Do you have any jobs lined up which justify a particular tool purchase?

I started with a DHP481 combi drill and DTS141 impact driver set with two 5ah batteries. I've since bought the DDA351 angle drill, DHR242 brushless SDS, DHS680 circular saw and a pair of fake 5ah batteries from eBay (just as good as the official batteries btw). I can wholeheartedly recommend all of them, especially the saw and SDS which are just as powerful as a corded tool.

 

[Jasper42]

Just got the DHP481Z 18V LXT BRUSHLESS to replace a 3 speed of the same make, much more powerful and better battery life. I’m also still using batteries I purchased 4 years ago.

 

[Simou1]

Recently bought the DRT50 18v brushless router/trimmer with a 5ah battery.

It is a superb tool and is as powerful as my 110v corded version. The brushless motor is smoother, has a very effective soft start and whilst I never thought that the two LED lights in the top housing would make much difference, they transform the tool.

 

[gmgmgm]

I had to google the coffee machine- it's a real thing. Wow.

Thanks for the advice all - I'm liking the trim router, and cordless angle grinder ideas. And the reciprocating saw for sub-chainsaw jobs.

And MattRoberts- it's a good point that Makita isn't the only player, though their chainsaw seems to be one of the better ones.

 

[macca]

From what I've seen Makita seem to have a select few tools that are made in japan whilst the majority are made in china. They make some really great tools and some trashy models to fill out their lines.

The bhp 458 is an excellent drill imo, although it is quite heavy, twice the weight of my brushless drill driver (chinese makita, half the age feels twice as old) had mine for a few years and still feels solid and i'm pretty abusive with tools at work. It has a metal chuck, if memory serves me the chuck is yukiwa, pretty much the finest brand of chuck you will find on a cordless.

dss610 (10 not 11!) is a great saw this has been abused by myself and a company of 5 other guys for 3 years and has never missed a beat. if i was buying again though i would choose the newer brushless saw.

Makita also make great grinders

Milwaukee seem quite progressive with new tool tech and dewalts flexvolt line looks impressive, if that has a chainsaw i'd look into it. (just incase i was starting to look like a fanboy )

 

[garethharvey]

I bought the Makita 18v circular saw, it's excellent

 

[memzey]

Some Makita stuff is actually made in England, my jigsaw definitely is and some of their other tools are as well like the plunge saw and a couple of their mitre saws.

 

[Tim_H]

I have a fiveteen year old Makita cordless drill which I converted from nicad to lithium ion with a cheap eBay fitting, built like a tank and still going strong, bought a newer lithium ion cordless drill, lighter and equally efficient, I have just bought the cordless ROS, which is so convenient and I should have bought years ago. There is a great review of that on this forum. I also have the single battery reciprocating saw which has been brilliant for pruning, I cut down a small ash tree recently and it handled that fine. I am also thinking about the chainsaw for bigger "pruning" jobs around the garden. I haven't tried any other cordless 18volt systems but as a DIYer I am very happy with the longevity of my Makitas and will be upgrading to cordless for my other tools if they ever did.

 

[MikeJhn]

Interested on your conversion to LiIo, how many what type cells did you put in? and what charger do you use?

Mike

 

[Simou1]

Having recently bought the superb Makita 18v trimmer I have been looking at the 18v ROS. It is made in Telford UK and appears to be an excellent bit of kit and though I have bought into the DeWalt cordless range, Makita have several tools which Dewalt do not make. Think it will be on my birthday list.

Having been very pleased with the little Katsu 240v trimmer, I ordered the offset trimmer base from Aim Tools for £25 delivered as opposed to £70ish for the Makita badged equivalent. Very impressed, it also comes with a spare knob to fix to the base to use as an extension. Very well made, it fits the Katsu and my two Makita’s perfectly.

 

[Tim_H]

I did not do anything very complicated, I bought a clip on fitting that allows you to use the newer lithium ion batteries and then I can use the lithium ion charger.

Sorry if that isn't what you wanted!

Tim

 

[MikeJhn]

Sorry Tim I don't understand your post, are you saying there is a clip on fitting that allows conversion from Nimh to LiIo on your unit?
If so could you give me a link to it, it would be great to be able to convert old battery technology to LiIo.

Mike

 

[MikeJhn]

Did a bit of investigating and found this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Battery-adapto ... B01EYPK9ZW will have to get one.

Mike

 

[Tim_H]

Dear Mike,

Something like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Battery-adapt ... 2128853739

Regards,

Tim